41 dead as heavy rains lash Jammu and Kashmir

At least 41 people, mostly pilgrims, were killed in landslides and flash floods in two districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday and Wednesday, following the heaviest 24-hour rainfall ever recorded in the region, officials said today.

Thirty-four people died near Adhkunwari en route to the hill-top temple of Mata Vaishno Devi on Tuesday afternoon following a cloudburst in the area, while four died in the hilly Doda district due to rain and flash floods earlier in the morning.

Later with the recovery of three more bodies on Wednesday, the toll touched 41.

The temple is one of the most visited shrines in northern India, officials said.

The bodies of the pilgrims were recovered from under the debris, according to disaster management officials who said.

Rescuers scoured the area on Wednesday for the missing while pilgrimage to the shrine have been suspended.